Shieldbot

PyPI License: MIT Python 3.11+ MCP Compatible

Shieldbot is an AI-powered security scanner that runs directly inside Claude Code. It combines deep dataflow analysis, 5,000+ static analysis rules, and advisory-database lookups with Claude's reasoning to detect vulnerabilities, hardcoded secrets, and CVE-affected dependencies — then synthesizes findings into a prioritized, actionable report.

One command. Full security audit. Zero context switching.

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What It Scans

Scanner	What It Catches	Auto-installed
CodeQL	Deep dataflow / taint-analysis SAST — SQL injection, XSS, path traversal, RCE, authentication flaws across 8+ languages	✓
Semgrep (5,000+ rules)	OWASP Top 10, CWE Top 25, SQL injection, XSS, SSRF, command injection
Bandit	Python-specific security flaws (hardcoded passwords, weak crypto, shell injection)
Ruff	Python code quality and security anti-patterns
detect-secrets	API keys, tokens, passwords, private keys in source code
Dependabot CLI	Ecosystem-specific security updates via GitHub's Dependabot engine (security-updates-only mode, requires Docker at runtime)	✓
osv-scanner	Dependency CVEs from the OSV / GitHub Advisory Database — works offline, no token required	✓
Trivy	Docker image CVEs (OS packages + libraries), Dockerfile misconfigurations, and secrets baked into image layers — runs automatically when a Dockerfile is found	✓
pip-audit	Python dependency CVEs (PyPI Advisory Database)
npm audit	Node.js dependency CVEs

All scanners run in parallel. Findings are deduplicated, ranked by exploitability, and explained in plain English.

Auto-installed tools (CodeQL, osv-scanner, Dependabot CLI, Trivy) are downloaded automatically on first scan — no package manager or sudo required. Supports macOS and Linux on x86_64 and arm64. Trivy and Dependabot CLI require Docker at runtime (image builds / ecosystem updaters). Trivy scan strategy: (1) docker build → full image scan; (2) docker pull <base_image> → base image scan if build fails; (3) trivy fs filesystem fallback. When Docker build fails (e.g. network restrictions in CI), a prominent SCAN GAP warning is emitted and the base image is scanned directly. Pass --image <tag> / extra_images to scan a pre-built image directly.

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Install as a Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

Step 1 — Add the Shieldbot marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add BalaSriharsha/shieldbot

Step 2 — Install the plugin:

/plugin install shieldbot

Step 3 — Reload plugins:

/reload-plugins

Step 4 — Run a scan:

/shieldbot .
/shieldbot /path/to/repo
/shieldbot . --git-history

Or just ask Claude naturally:

• "scan this repo for security vulnerabilities"
• "check my code for hardcoded secrets"
• "audit my Python dependencies for CVEs"

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Install as a Standalone MCP Server

Add to your MCP client config (.mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shieldbot": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["shieldbot-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via pip:

pip install shieldbot-mcp

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Pre-install Scanner Tools

CodeQL, osv-scanner, and Dependabot CLI are downloaded automatically on first scan, but you can pre-install them with the bundled CLI:

shieldbot-install              # install all four
shieldbot-install --codeql     # CodeQL only
shieldbot-install --osv        # osv-scanner only
shieldbot-install --dependabot # Dependabot CLI only
shieldbot-install --trivy      # Trivy only
shieldbot-install --force      # reinstall / upgrade to latest

Binaries are placed in ~/.local/bin. Add it to your shell profile if needed:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

All three tools are fully open-source and installed from their official GitHub releases — no package manager, no sudo, no API keys:

Tool	Source	License
CodeQL CLI	github/codeql-cli-binaries	MIT
osv-scanner	google/osv-scanner	Apache-2.0
Dependabot CLI	dependabot/cli	MIT
Trivy	aquasecurity/trivy	Apache-2.0

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MCP Tools

Tool	Description
scan_repository	Run a full parallel security scan and return a structured JSON report
check_scanner_tools	Check which scanners are installed and available

scan_repository parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
repo_path	string	required	Absolute path to the repository
skip_scanners	list	[]	Scanners to skip — valid values: codeql, semgrep, bandit, ruff, detect-secrets, dependabot, pip-audit, npm-audit, trivy
scan_git_history	bool	false	Also scan git commit history for leaked secrets
extra_images	list	[]	Pre-built Docker image names/tags to scan directly with Trivy — use when docker build fails in restricted environments (e.g. ["mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.50-noble"])

Dockerfile / docker-compose fix utilities

Shieldbot includes a command-line fixer that the agent uses to analyse and patch Dockerfiles and compose files:

# Analyse a Dockerfile and generate a fix plan from scan results
python -m shieldbot.fixers.dockerfile_fixer analyze Dockerfile shieldbot-report.json

# List all FROM stages and their detected package managers
python -m shieldbot.fixers.dockerfile_fixer list-stages Dockerfile

# List all RUN install commands and their packages
python -m shieldbot.fixers.dockerfile_fixer list-installs Dockerfile

# List all image: references in a docker-compose file
python -m shieldbot.fixers.dockerfile_fixer list-compose-images docker-compose.yml

# Check Docker Hub for a newer/patched base image tag
python -m shieldbot.fixers.dockerfile_fixer suggest-base-upgrade ubuntu:20.04

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GitHub Actions Integration

Add Shieldbot to any repository in 3 lines. Findings appear in the Security > Code Scanning tab via SARIF upload.

# .github/workflows/shieldbot.yml
name: Shieldbot Security Scan
on:
  push:
    branches: [main, master]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, master]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 8 * * 1'  # Weekly scan

permissions:
  contents: read
  security-events: write  # Required for Code Scanning upload

jobs:
  shieldbot:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: BalaSriharsha/shieldbot@main

All available inputs:

Input	Default	Description
path	.	Directory to scan
fail-on	high	Fail build if findings at or above this level
skip-scanners	``	Comma-separated scanners to skip
scan-git-history	false	Scan git history for leaked secrets
upload-sarif	true	Upload to GitHub Code Scanning
sarif-file	shieldbot-results.sarif	SARIF output path

Outputs: total-findings, risk-score, sarif-file

See .github/workflows/shieldbot-example.yml for the full annotated example.

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Exit Codes (CI/CD Integration)

Code	Meaning
0	Clean — no findings above threshold
1	Medium+ findings detected
2	High+ findings detected
3	Critical findings detected

Use exit codes to gate deployments in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or any pipeline.

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How It Works

1. Detect — Shieldbot profiles the repository (languages, package managers, git history)
2. Auto-install — Any missing scanner tools (CodeQL, osv-scanner, Dependabot CLI) are downloaded from GitHub releases for the current OS and architecture
3. Scan — All applicable scanners run in parallel via asyncio.gather()
4. Deduplicate — Findings are deduplicated by exact hash and proximity (±3 lines), with scanner priority: CodeQL → Semgrep → Bandit → detect-secrets → Dependabot/osv-scanner → pip-audit/npm-audit → Trivy
5. Analyze — Claude synthesizes raw scanner output into prioritized findings with context
6. Report — Structured output with executive summary, risk score, and remediation steps

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Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Claude Code (for plugin mode)
• Docker (optional — required at runtime for Trivy image scanning and Dependabot CLI's ecosystem updaters)

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Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/BalaSriharsha/shieldbot.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE